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Wednesday 20 July 2011

OF A THREAT ON NATIONAL TV AND ABUSE OF MEDIA POWERS



"...We don't know whether your work permits are still valid. But our legal department is looking into the issue and you can be assured they will be all over you like a bad itch..." That sounds like a threat. It was made on national TV. Is this a case of the media abusing it's powers?

Whether justified or not is really besides the point. You just don't use such language on the only public broadcaster, however aggrieved you are.

It appears the TV presenter in question was particularly upset by what she says was the confiscation of footage recorded by the crew of the programme, by the organizers of a  concert by Congolese Lingala music sensation Fally Ipupa.

Anyiko, presenter of KBC's Grapevine variety show

And right from the introduction of that segment, you could sense she was perhaps taking the matter very personally, otherwise how do you justify her comment that the Ipupa show was the most poorly organized in the entire history of the world?

If it was true some overzealous promoters, bouncers or concert officials did forcefully take the recorded material in fear that it would be used to paint them in bad light, then that needs to be condemned. But here, an eye for an eye should not suffice.

And that apparently has been the trend among people working in the media. They issue threats they will publish or broadcast bad things about somebody or a company, if they don't get their way. This is meant to scare the other party into accepting their demands.

If this is not abuse of office or powers that the media keeps highlighting, especially where government officials are involved, then I don't know what is.

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